The Sun Sentinel answers readers’ questions about the COVID-1 9 vaccine.

Q. “I belong to a non-profit group that is having a fundraiser event in December at a hotel. It is a sit-down dinner and silent auction. We would like to ask all paying guests and members to show proof of vaccination so that everyone will feel safe attending. Is this legal? If I want to have an event in my private home can I say that everyone must be vaccinated? Or does this not make a difference?” Kathy Schultz

A. You can’t require proof of vaccination for your guests at the hotel, but you can at your home, according to Boca Raton attorney Peter Sachs.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill earlier this year that prevents businesses, schools and government agencies from requiring people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Those who demand proof can face a $5,000 fine beginning Sept. 16.

Q. “My wife and I got our two doses of Pfizer in January at Hard Rock Stadium. Do we have to go back to Hard Rock for our booster shots, or can we go elsewhere? Also, if our initial shots were Pfizer, do we have to stay with that for our third shot, or, if we choose, can we get a Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shot?” — David Merves, Aventura

A. You don’t have to return to the same site for your booster; you can go anywhere. Here’s a list of South Florida sites that offer shots: https:// www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/ fl-ne-ss-prem-covid-vaccine-hereswhere-to-go-20210218-jrrk2ydfejb6fabzplukafxf64-story.html.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you stick with the same brand you got for your first shots, unless it’s not available; then you can try another brand. Johnson & Johnson is not part of the booster program; data has yet to come in on whether J&J recipients need another shot.

Q. “I got the first shot on Friday. Now I don’t feel good today, Saturday. If I tested positive a day or two later, does it void the first shot out” — Jesse, Satsuma

A. Your timing is good, and if you did get COVID, you have extra protection for the coming months, said Dr. Andrea Klemes, chief medical officer at MDVIP, a physicians’ network with headquarters in Boca Raton.

“The vaccine and COVID-19 will both

produce antibodies to help you fight infection in the future,” she said. “So it will not void the first shot.”

Q. “Is there any research on how much more protected you may or may not be if you have been infected by COVID19 and recovered from it and also been vaccinated? Do you have greater immunity because of both of those events?” —

Mark, Pompano Beach

A. According to research out of Great Britain, you do. The Oxford study on the delta variant checked whether having both COVID-19 vaccination and natural infection had an effect on immunity.

The results haven’t been published yet, but initial findings show extra immunity for people who had both the virus and their vaccines.

“People who had been vaccinated after already being infected with COVID-19 had even more protection against the delta variant than vaccinated individuals who had not had COVID-19 before,” said Dr. Joanna Drowos, an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University’s medical school. “This is difficult to quantify as many personal and physiologic factors impact immune response. Vaccination continues to be recommended for anyone who is not yet vaccinated and has had a natural COVID-19 infection.”

Q. “I had COVID at the beginning of August but am now negative. I was able to get monoclonal antibodies five days after I presented symptoms. Will I need a booster? I had my second Pfizer vaccine Jan. 28; I received

the infusion on Aug. 11.” —

Sandi Block-Brezner

A. Your situation is almost ahead of the science, as the recommendations for people to get vaccines after getting antibody treatment focus on the unvaccinated. There isn’t substantive research yet on vaccinated people who received the treatment.

“Currently, there are no data on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in people who received monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma as part of COVID-19 treatment,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Based on the estimated half-life of such therapies and evidence suggesting that reinfection is uncommon within the 90 days after initial infection, vaccination should be deferred for at least 90 days after receiving monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma. This is a precautionary measure until additional information becomes available, to avoid potential interference of the antibody therapy with vaccine-induced immune responses.”

This advice doesn’t specifically apply to boosters, which will not be available to the general population until Sept. 20. But Dr. Andrea Klemes, chief medical officer at MDVIP, a physicians’ network with headquarters in Boca Raton, said to wait the 90 recommended days and see if new research emerges.

“That will take you to November,” she said.

“By then we should have greater clarity and more data on who needs a booster shot and when.”

Have a question about the COVID-19 vaccine? Email Lois Solomon at AskLois@ sunsentinel.com.